


Padfoot Won't Leave

by dduucckk



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: A tiny bit of fluff, Crack Fic, Funny, Gen, M/M, Or I tried to be funny anyway, Padfoot decides to stay with the durselys, The Golden Trio Era (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:27:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25423117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dduucckk/pseuds/dduucckk
Summary: At the end of Harry's third year, Remus and Sirius have a plan to get Harry away from the Dursleys.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 16
Kudos: 144
Collections: Sirius Lives There Now





	Padfoot Won't Leave

**Author's Note:**

> This is the result of a conversation in the wolfstar games discord, please go and check out the other fics in the collection!! I haven't read them all yet but I can guarantee they're amazing.
> 
> Also I wrote this at midnight and then got up at 7am and spent two and a half hours editing and rewriting so it might be a bit of a mess, but I had fun writing it.

When Harry got off the Hogwarts Express at the end of his third year, he was dreading the summer. He hugged Ron and Hermione goodbye, and promised them that he would write as often as he could, and then faced the exit to Platform 9¾ and prepared to leave the wizarding world.

As he stepped out into the muggle train station, he glanced around for the Dursleys. He couldn’t see them yet, so he sat down on a bench and hoped that his aunt and uncle hadn’t forgotten about him. They usually didn’t, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it had happened.

Harry sat there, gently petting Hedwig to keep her quiet, for no more than five minutes. In fact, he checked the clock and it was _exactly_ five minutes after he sat down that the dog came over to him. It sat in front of him, tail wagging and tongue lolling, and Harry was sure he recognized it.

“Sirius?” he asked hesitantly, “Is that you?”

The dog nodded. Definitely nodded. It had to be Sirius.

“What are you doing here?”

Sirius-the-dog’s eyes cut to a spot just over Harry’s shoulder. Harry turned around to see the Dursleys advancing towards him. He made a go away motion at Sirius-the-dog, hoping he would get the message. He stayed right where he was.

“Sirius!” Harry hissed. “Go, you have to go! They won’t let you stay!”

Sirius-the-dog looked like he was trying to raise his eyebrows. He looked down at himself, then back at Harry.

“No, not even as a dog!” But Sirius had lost his opportunity to leave, because the Dursleys were here, and Uncle Vernon was growling at Harry to get his things and to “stay away from that mangy mutt, I won’t have it bringing fleas into my house.”

Privately, Harry thought that even fleas would know to avoid number four Privet Drive, if only because of Aunt Petunia’s almost religious cleaning.

His trunk in one hand and Hedwig’s cage in the other, Harry followed the Dursleys to the car park and climbed into the backseat of the car. Dudley got in on the other side, and sat squished against the door in order to be as far from Harry as possible. Harry pulled his wand out of his pocket and twirled it around. Dudley’s face paled, and he called out in a shaking voice, “Mum! Dad! Harry’s got his you-know-what out!”

Uncle Vernon was struggling to put Harry’s trunk in the boot and so he didn’t hear, but Aunt Petunia twisted around in her seat and fixed Harry with an angry stare. “You keep that thing away from Dudders,” she ordered. She looked like she was going to say more, probably finish with a threat, but just at that moment, Uncle Vernon cursed loudly and colourfully, and all three occupants of the car craned their necks to see what was happening.

“It’s that ruddy dog,” Uncle Vernon growled. “It’s followed us. Go away, go _away_!” From what little Harry could see, Uncle Vernon was none too gently prodding Sirius-the-dog with his foot. Sirius-the-dog, not overly happy with this development, snapped at Vernon’s ankle, earning a very undignified squeak from the man. Harry opened his door and leaned out to get a better view. Sirius-the-dog took it as an opportunity to leap into the car, settling himself comfortably between Harry and Dudley.

“Get that bloody thing out of the car!” Uncle Vernon yelled. His face was turning a deeply unpleasant shade of purple. Harry grinned.

“I don’t think it’s going to leave,” Harry said.

“I’ll make it leave,” Uncle Vernon said. But whenever he got too close, Sirius-the-dog would growl and try to bite his fingers. Aunt Petunia tried to convince the dog to leave as well, with the same results. Dudley cowered further into the car door.

Finally, Aunt Petunia sighed in defeat and said that the dog didn’t seem to want to leave, and Uncle Vernon was forced to agree. They drove away, Uncle Vernon still looking as though he was about to tear tufts out of his moustache at the slightest provocation, and Harry patted Sirius-the-dog on the head. This was going to be a fun summer.

Back at the house, Harry was immediately banished to his room. He had to make two trips up the stairs, one for his trunk and one for Hedwig, and Sirius-the-dog followed him up and down the stairs both times. Uncle Vernon glared at him, and started making plans to get rid of the dog later that day.

Up in his room, Harry put Hedwig’s cage on his desk and fed her a couple treats. He looked over at Sirius.

“I don’t have any food for you,” he said. Sirius-the-dog shrugged. Harry couldn’t help thinking how strange it was to see a dog acting so much like a human. “I’ll find you something to eat later,” Harry decided, and Sirius-the-dog smiled. Or, he made a face that was as close to a smile as a dog could get. Harry was suitably impressed.

He opened his trunk and started to unpack. For Harry, unpacking really just meant taking out the few muggle clothes he had brought with him to Hogwarts, so it didn’t take very long and it was only a few minutes later that he was sitting on his bed with nothing better to do than watch Sirius-the-dog sniff around Harry’s trunk.

“What are you looking for?”

Sirius-the-dog looked up at Harry, then went back to digging through the contents of the trunk. Harry flopped back onto his bed and stared at a spot on the ceiling. “What should I call you?” He asked. “I don’t think Sirius is going to work, it’s not really a dog name.” He thought for a moment. “And they might recognize that as the name of an escaped convict.” Sirius-the-dog gave a pleased sounding bark. Harry heard paper rustling, and then Padfoot jumped up onto the bed and dropped the Marauder’s Map on Harry’s chest.

“Why were you looking for that?” Harry picked it up, and Sirius-the-dog looked at him hopefully. “I can’t open it,” Harry said, “I’m not allowed to use magic outside of school.”

Sirius-the-dog huffed and sat down on the bed. Harry lay down next to him and fixed his eyes on the ceiling again. “What should I call you?” he whispered. Sirius-the-dog poked the Map with his paw. “What do you want with the map?” Harry was beginning to get frustrated. He picked up the map and looked at it. Just a blank sheet of parchment. He looked back at Sirius-the-dog. Then he remembered.

“You helped to make this map, didn’t you? Professor Lupin told me.” Sirius-the-dog’s ears perked up at the mention of Professor Lupin. “He said you guys were Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs.” Harry frowned, trying to remember. “So you must have been Padfoot!” Sirius-the-dog nodded. “I’ll call you that, then.” Harry decided. Padfoot barked happily. Harry scratched him behind the ears. “Is that what you were trying to tell me?” Padfoot nodded, and Harry grinned.

When Uncle Vernon shouted for Harry to come down for supper, Padfoot’s ears flattened against his head and he growled.

“I know, I know,” Harry said, “I don’t like him either. But maybe I’ll be able to find you something to eat.”

Padfoot followed Harry down the stairs and to the dining room. The Dursleys were sitting at the table with their food, but there was no fourth plate in sight.

“Yours is in the kitchen, boy,” Uncle Vernon said. He didn’t look at Harry.

Harry went into the kitchen with Padfoot right behind him. He sat down at the kitchen table and ate half of his meagre meal. He gave the rest to Padfoot. Padfoot looked at the plate and shook his head, pushing it back towards Harry. “You have to eat,” Harry said. Padfoot shrugged and nudged the plate at Harry again. Harry finished his supper.

Late that night, Uncle Vernon snuck into Harry’s room, determined to get rid of that blasted dog. But in the darkness, he couldn’t actually see where the dog was, and all he heard was a low, menacing growl. He left as fast as he could and locked the door behind him.

The next morning, Harry was woken up by the roar of a motorcycle. He could hear Uncle Vernon complaining about it from all the way downstairs. Padfoot, however, was at the window, his tail wagging as he watched the motorcycle park in front of number four. Harry went over to the window as well, and laughed when he saw the man who was getting off of it. He opened the window and leaned out.

“Professor Lupin!” he shouted. Remus looked up and waved. Several of the neighbours were watching either from their windows or from their front lawn.

“Harry!” he called out. “Nice to see you! And I see you’ve found Padfoot?”

“I’d say he’s the one that found me, Sir.”

“Yes, well, he’s always been good at that. Come on down and let me in!”

Harry ran to his door and tried to open it, only to find it locked. He pounded on it, but got no response. He went back to his window and called out, “Professor! I’m locked in!”

The neighbours looked alarmed. Remus looked murderous. He stormed up the path and knocked loudly on the front door. Harry could hear Uncle Vernon growling and grumbling as he walked down the hall. Harry leaned so far out of his window that Padfoot had to pull him back so he wouldn’t fall. When Uncle Vernon opened the door, Remus put a pleasant smile on his face and said, “Vernon Dursley. I hear you’re keeping Harry locked in his room.”

Uncle Vernon’s eyes widened. His face started to go red. He looked around at all the neighbours watching and forced a laugh. “Little tyke has some trouble with sleepwalking,” he said loudly. “He nearly drove away in the car one time, we’re just trying to keep him safe.” More quietly, he said. “Get in here. Now.”

Remus stepped in the house and Vernon slammed the door shut behind him. Upstairs, Harry moved from the window to his keyhole, straining his ears to try and hear what was going on.

“Let Harry out of his room,” Remus said. “And the dog, too.”

“Why do you care about them?”

“Let them out and we’ll talk.”

“And what if I don’t? That dog is a menace.”

Remus snorted. “He’s a sweetheart when you get to know him.” He pulled out his wand. “But this should help to convince you.”

Uncle Vernon went pale. In the silence that followed, both men could hear Harry pounding on his bedroom door. Remus raised an eyebrow. Uncle Vernon went upstairs and unlocked the door. Harry burst out of his room, Padfoot on his heels. Padfoot jumped up on Remus, licking his face, and Harry stood back a bit, grinning, before Remus stepped forward and hugged him.

“Nice to see you again, Professor,” Harry said.

“Just Remus now, Harry. I got fired, remember?”

“I thought you said you resigned?”

“Doesn’t make much of a difference now, does it?”

Uncle Vernon finally recovered his courage and demanded, “What do you want with the boy?”

Remus turned to him, a polite smile just barely hiding his disgust. “I want to take him away from you.”

“And how are you going to do that?” Uncle Vernon sneered. “Just you, the boy, and the dog?”

Remus looked at Padfoot and nodded and suddenly, standing in Padfoot’s place was a tall, thin man with long matted black hair. He was still wearing the old rags that Harry had last seen him in, but the grin on his face more than made up for his bedraggled appearance. A small gasp came from the stairs and they all turned to see Aunt Petunia standing on the top step, pointing at Sirius.

“He’s the one from the news! The convict! He killed twelve people!”

Sirius smiled his most menacing smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not quite ready to up my body count to thirteen.” 

Petunia whimpered.

Remus rolled his eyes. “He’s innocent,” he assured her. She didn’t look convinced.

“Now,” Sirius said, “can we get a bite to eat? I’m starved.”

“You won’t be staying here!” Uncle Veron said. “I won’t allow it!”

Remus and Sirius looked at each other. “Well, we can always stay with Mrs Figg.” Sirius said. “She has a spare room.”

“Or we could just sleep out on the lawn,” Remus suggested. “My sleeping bag is big enough for two.”

Uncle Vernon was turning purple. “You won’t be staying anywhere! You’re going to leave, and you won’t come back!”

“Nah,” Sirius said. “I think I’d like to stay here for a few days. It’s a nice neighbourhood.”

Uncle Vernon growled. “Fine,” he said, shoving Harry towards them. “Take the boy, I don’t care. Just get out!”

“Do you need to pack anything?” Remus asked Harry.

“I just need my trunk and Hedwig,” Harry said.

“Go get them and meet us outside,” Sirius said. Harry ran into his room, and with a last look at Vernon, Remus and Sirius went outside to stand by the motorcycle.

“It’s good to see you again,” Sirius said quietly.

“We saw each other two days a-oh, you’re talking to the motorcycle. Okay.”

Sirius laughed. “It’s good to see you again too, Moony, don’t worry.”

“I can’t believe you put your motorcycle above your boyfriend.” Remus shook his head sadly.

“My boyfriend?” Sirius said, grinning. “Are we doing that again?”

Remus shrugged. “I’d like to.”

“Me too.” They stood there for a moment, just smiling at each other. Sirius looked around again. “They’re all staring,” he whispered. Anyone who hadn’t already been watching was definitely watching now. Remus grinned.

“Let’s give them something to stare at, shall we?” When Sirius nodded, Remus stood on his tiptoes and kissed Sirius. It started out soft, and sweet, and just for them, but very quickly became showy and passionate and verging on indecent. They were both laughing when they pulled away.

Sirius turned to see the Dursleys standing in the doorway, horrified, and Harry making his way down the path, a huge smile on his face.

When he reached them, Remus helped Harry into the sidecar, and managed to fit his trunk in with him. Sirius climbed onto the motorcycle and revved it, sending a grin at the scandalized Dursleys. Remus let Hedwig out of her cage, then climbed on behind Sirius. Harry waved to his aunt and uncle one last time, and Sirius flipped them off, and then they drove away and never looked back.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it!! Comments and kudos are always appreciated :)
> 
> Come say hi on [tumblr!](https://dduucckk.tumblr.com)


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